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Posted by: Crushinator Dec 10 2010, 01:01 PM

Amid shakeups with the development team, including replacing the Director of FF14, SE announced another 30 day extension to the free trial, along with a letter that indicates to me they will keep extending it till they feel the game is "satisfactory".

QUOTE

Thank you for your continued interest in and support of FINAL FANTASY XIV.

While more than two months have passed since the official launch of FINAL FANTASY XIV service, we deeply regret that the game has yet to achieve the level of enjoyability that FINAL FANTASY fans have come to expect from the franchise, and for this we offer our sincerest of apologies.

After thorough deliberation on how to meet those expectations, it was decided that the most viable step was to approach improvements under new leadership and with a restructured team.

To realize this vision, and in doing so, provide our customers with a better game experience, we have assembled our company's top talent and resources. Taking over the role of producer and director is Naoki Yoshida, a passionate individual for whom customer satisfaction has always taken top priority. Not only is he one of our Group's most accomplished and experienced members, Naoki Yoshida is also a charismatic leader possessing the skill to bring together and effectively helm a team which encompasses a wide range of responsibilities. We also welcome several new leaders handpicked from other projects to work with the existing talent on FINAL FANTASY XIV.

We realize time is of the essence and are fully determined to provide our customers with quality service. It is because of this that we ask our customers to be patient until we are able to confidently present them with a concrete plan outlining FINAL FANTASY XIV's new direction. The free trial period will be extended until that time.

Regarding the PlayStation 3, it is not our wish to release a simple conversion of the Windows version in its current state, but rather an update that includes all the improvements we have planned. For that reason, we have made the difficult decision to delay the release of the PlayStation 3 version beyond the originally announced date of March 2011.

The FINAL FANTASY XIV team is working hard to bring our customers an unparalleled adventure, and we ask for your continued understanding and support as we march ever diligently towards that goal.

President and CEO, Yoichi Wada

Tanaka's letter regarding him stepping down from the Director/Producer position:

QUOTE

First of all, I would like to apologize for our inability to fully satisfy our users with the initial release of FINAL FANTASY XIV. I take full responsibility for the game's current situation, and have therefore made the decision to step down from my role as producer. A number of concerns that have been voiced by users, such as the design of the user interface, availability of tutorials and game content, and battle system functionality, represent key issues that must be addressed. While improvements are already well underway in many areas, we were unfortunately not able to incorporate player feedback as quickly as we would have liked. We are aware, however, that in many cases, addressing these issues will call for a reworking of game elements. As these changes are our first priority, they will be commanding our full attention and efforts. It is to that end that we have put a new organizational structure into place for the development team. Under this new system, FINAL FANTASY XIV will see changes and additions in line with the desires and expectations of players. Though no longer producer, I will be continuing to support the development team in other capacities, and personally hope that you will continue your adventures in the realm of Eorzea.

Hiromichi Tanaka

Posted by: HC82 Dec 11 2010, 05:15 PM

We are sorry this game is trash...- Love, Square Enix

I think they've reach a design point where they realized that even the updates and changes will still create a totally inferior product. The questing system its self will have to essentially be made into a NEW game and they will almost have to work from the ground up. The combat system if (if fixed and improved) and the job system are pretty good. The actual gameplay is total trash. Keep the bones, but reflesh everything else.

In all honesty, if they can fix the battle system and make it tight, and strategic, then they can make the battle leves more interesting and team based, with bigger exp and cash bonuses for a more hardcore experience. When you make something "casual" it doesn't mean to dilute the product, but that is exactly what they did. Keep 1 star quests diluted, but anything after that needs to be totally revamped, update, and more dynamic.

Posted by: Crushinator Dec 12 2010, 12:20 AM

If they are intent on sticking with leves as the main "meat" of the game, they REALLY need to release the 8-per-day cap. Their original intent was to make it so that HxCore players wouldn't blow past casuals by playing too much, but it has the opposite effect. To "keep up" with their hardcore friends who may grind and go apeshit partying and sharing leves, a casual player may feel they "need" to log on and get their "eight in" every day possible just to keep pace, thereby forcing the casual player to play in a hardcore manner lest they be left behind.

The hardcore players will exploit the system and then when its no longer exploitable they're still going to grind on shitty enemies to level up "just because", since the rest of the game is so completely devoid of content aside from leveling. From what I've been reading on discussion boards, even the hardcore players are giving up on the game at this point, with many people capping one or more jobs at level 50, and there being no "story" content beyond level 40. There aren't even any leves set up for players beyond level 33 if I understand correctly.

Posted by: Alisha Feb 5 2011, 04:41 PM

looks like i wont be playing the game anytime soon. maybe i should take a look at dc universe in the meantime.

Posted by: Crushinator Feb 5 2011, 06:11 PM

The game fucking sucks (sorry Tanshin) and you really shouldn't be playing it AT ALL. DCU is fun, even if the fun only lasts the first free month, its worth the price of admission.